Machine for filling match-boxes.



APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5, l9l6- Patented May 21,1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEEV.T 1.

w. B. HUTCHINSON. MACHINE FOR FILLING MATCH BOXE'S.

APPLICATION FlLE D OCT. 5. 1916.-

m a IT I 2% y ah. M E E M t5 m t a P J E Q a W. B HUTCHINSONI MACHINE FOR FILLING MATCH BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5, I916- I ,gfifiwfl u Patented May 21,1918,

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MACHINE FOR FILLING MATCH BOXES.- APPLICATION FILED cm. 5. 1916.

Patented May 21,1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4-- (9 I/VVE/VTOH w. BQHUTC HIN SON. MACHINE FOB FILLING MATCH- aoxzs.

APPLICATION HLEIJ ocT. 5. 191a.

Patent-ed May 21,1918.-

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

' I6. i imh H m film MACHINE FOR FILLING MATCH-BOXES.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May at, rate.

Application filed October 5, 1916. Serial No. 123,813.

To all iohom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN B. HUToH- INsoN, a citizen of the United States, and

' from a continuous match machine, pack them evenly in the match trays, and then insert the match trays in the shucks or tubes. My invention is also intended to provide a simple means of packing matches especially safety matches, from hoppers in which they "have been placed and from which the matches are placed in the trays and the trays inserted in the shucks. A particular object of my invention is to provide delivery elements for the matches, which delivery elements are provided With pockets and arranged to hold the match sticks or splints so that the match heads will be out of contact with surrounding walls. These delivery elements are arranged in close parallel relation so that the trays move along step by step underneath them, and the delivery elements turn over so as to discharge their contents, that is the matches, into the trays beneath. These elements can be arranged so as to receive any desired number of matches, and can be arranged and timed so that the several elements will successively discharge matches into the same tray as it passes beneath them, or the elements can be arranged so that a tray will skip one or more of the delivery elements and receive matches from any predetermined one, thus making it possible to fill the trays accurately and to supply just the desired number of matches from each delivery element. Attention is called to the fact that matchesare very diflicult to handle, and heretofore inattempts to box them often devices have been used in which the matches are pushed along side'wise in cells or compartments, or else slides have been used which have been pulled from beneath the matches as they lie in compartments and then return to support another quantity of matches. a My invention is intended to obviate these difficulties and produce means which will deliver the matches safely without firing and Without breaking in the boxes intended to receive them. In general my invention is intended to supply an efficient apparatus for filling match boxes with little danger of firing, and with great speed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specifi cation, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a broken front sectional elevatlon of my improved apparatus as applied to the discharge end of a continuous match machine.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l and shows an extension thereof, the two views being adapted to be placed together side by side.

Fig; 3 is a broken plan view of the filling apparatus.

Fig. t is a detail cross section showing the arrangement of the delivery elements and a sllghtly modified form of the same.

Fig. 4:.

Flg. 6 1s a broken sectional plan partly diagrammatic, showing the manner in which the filled trays are transferred to the mechanism for inserting them in the shucks.

Fig. 7 is a cross section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a broken front sectional elevation of the apparatus as applied to hoppers from which the matches are taken.

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan of the structure shown in Fig. 8, and

Fig. 10 is a broken detail plan of the shaker used in connection with the form of Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5- 5 of which carry a horizontal belt 13, and this is provided with clips 14 which are spaced apart the distance of the match trays 15, and the match trays are supplied to the belt continuously so as to keep it full. I have not shown the means for supplying the trays, as it has nothing to do with this invention, neither, have I shown the driving mecha nism for the belt, or for the several belts to be hereinafter referred to, as itwill be unthe movements of this apparatus are correcontactwith any surface.

spondingly intermittent. Directly in front of; the carrier 10 I arrange a horizontal frame 16 which is provided with lugs 17 by which it can be attached to the frame 11 of the match dipping machine, andthis frame is phoyi ded with transverse spacing ribs 18 which are spaced apart and which are narrowed atthe top so that matches falling between them will slide downward toward the central point between the said ribs. The ribs are hollowed out at the sides as shown at 19 to provide for the rotation or turningof the delivery elements 20. These'elements are cutaway or reduced in thecenter as shown Fig. 3, so' that the abutments 21 shown by dottedlines in Fig. 1 and by full lines in Fig. 3, can enter thesaid recessed portions. The elements 20 are provided with pockets 22 which are adapted to receive the matches 25 as they are discharged from the carrier, and if desired these elements 20 can be provided with a plurality of pockets .22 as shown in Fig. l. Their shafts 23 are mounted in the frame 16and-are geared together by gears 24.

For the sake of clearness the gears are omitted except at the ends of Figs. 3 and 6, but the several elements are all geared togctherv so as to turn in unison, and if they are geared directly as indicated they will turn in opposite directions, but it is immaterial whetherthey turn in the same direction or in opposite directions. As they turn over the matches are carried around with themand deposited in the trays beneath.

By reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the elements20 are shorter than the matches so that the heads will lie in a clear space between one end of each element and the frame 16, and the adjacent rib 18 is cut away as shown at 18 so as to leave clearance for the match head and it cannot come into striking It will be further seen that as the elements are rotated with thematehes in thepoc'kets, the midde portion of the match sticks will come in contact with the abutments 21 on the under side of the latter so that by no possibility can thematches be carried around beyond the tray beneath, but will bepositively expelled. The pockets can be used without the abutments, but this is an added safeguard. j

By referenceto Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that I have shown the pockets 22differently arranged'on the several elements. It will be seen that they can be set so that the delivery elements -will not deliver in sequence into the same tray, which is an important feature. If each element delivered to the same tray as it passed beneath it, the

tray would become full before it traversed the space corresponding to the width of the match machine, but it will be readily seen that these delivery elements can be arranged so that the first one on the left will discharge into the tray beneath it and the next one will not discharge into this tray but the third one will, and so on. Under this arrangement the matches as they are discharged from the plate will in some cases he on the tops of the delivery elements until the pockets come around to receive them. It will be understood that the driving mechanism is intermittent so that when the ejecting plungers of the match machine are withdrawn after ejecting the matches, the delivery elements will turn during said withdrawal movement, but I have purposely omitted the driving mechanism in order that the novel features of the apparatus can be more clearly shown and described.

In Fig. 3 I have shown one form of ejector in which the reciprocating head 27 is provided with plungers 28 which enter the holes 26 of the carrier and push out the matches. This, however, has nothing to do with my invention as any suitable ejecting mechanism can be used.

The belt 13 is extended to one side of the match machine as shown in Fig. 2, and beneath this extended part of the belt is arranged a table or plate 29, while parallel with this portion and extending to the right beyond it is a second belt 30 which moves intermittently and should be driven so as to move twice as fast as the belt 13 but only half as often. The object of this arrangement is to enable a plurality of loaded trays to be shifted to the belt 30 and then moved into the shuck filling apparatus so as to give a little longer dwell for the trays as they are inserted in theshucks. The trays are shifted from the belt 13 to the belt 30 by means of plungers 31 which can be operated in any suitable manner, and which transfer two loaded trays to the belt 30, but obviously any desirable number of trays might be shifted without affecting the invention.

During part of its course the belt 30 runs through a split plate or table 32 (see Fig. 7) to form a better support for the loaded trays, and at this point the trays come beneath a top plate 33 which is wider than the length of the trays as shown in Fig. 6. A belt 34: for carrying oif the filled shacks is arranged parallel with the belt 30 but at a lower level.

The plate 33 has beneath it a space to receive the shucks and the trays within the shucks as presently described, and at one open ends in alinement with the movement of the plunger 38, and it is well known that when a flat shuck is pushed into a narrower but higher space than the normal width of the flattened shuck, it will assume its normal rectangular shape ready to receive a tray. This is what occurs when the shucks are pushed from the hoppers 36 through the chutes 35. The slide 38 which carries the shucks has a shoulder 39 adapted to abut with the outer end of the shuck, and when the slide is pushed forward beneath the plate 33, two shucks will be carried with it into the space provided and the shucks will be opened up as described. As the slide 38 moves forward it will support the expanded shucks, and at the same movement the plungers 33 will push the filled trays 15 from the belt 30 into the shucks. To facilitate this operation the plate 33 is provided with a shoulder 35 at its junction with the chutes 35, and also with an inclined part 42 which merges in a shoulder and which prevents the shuck from being carried too far inward. When the tray is pushed forward its upper edge will be slightly bent down by the member 42 and its bottom squeezed up by the incline 40 on the slide 38 so that it will enter the shuck easily. hen the slide 38 is withdrawn the filled boxes 45 drop upon the belt 34 and are carried away, but in case-there should be any tendency for the filled boxes to stick, the plate 33 is provided with openings 43 through which plungers 44 operate to eject the filled boxes upon the belt 34.

In Figs. 8 to 10 I have shown the apparatus as adapted to fill match boxes from hoppers, and this is more especially intended for safety matches as these can be safely handled in hoppers. As shown the hopper 46 has one part open on one side as shown at 47, and the other part on the opposite side as shown at 48 in Fig. 9, and the matches are transferred to these hoppers by the ordinary large trays which receive them from the match dipping machine. If large boxes are to be filled, half the hopper will be filled through the open side 47 and the other half through the open side 48, leaving the two sections of match heads pointing in opposite directions, and the filling elements beneath them which are as already described, can be timed so that the trays 15 which are carried by the belt 13 will be only half filled from the left hand division, thus providing a simple means of having the heads in the boxes lie half in one direction and half in the other. In connection with the means for filling from hoppers I have shown an ordinary shaker 49 similar to that used in the feed hoppers of continuous match machines, which is provided with division plates 50 to hold the matches straight and which slides between the hopper bottom and the frame F 16, so that the matches will be delivered all straight to the delivery elements 20. The shaker can be moved in any convenient manner, and I have shown it provided at one end with a cam 51 which strikes against a roller 52, andthe shaker is held against the cam by the spring Attention is called to the fact that the delivery elements 20 for placing the matches in the trays, can be turned at every stroke of the splint discharging mechanism, or it can be timed so as to allow the matches to accumulate a little before the delivery element turns, that is the delivery element can turn only after several strokes of the match ecting mechanism, if desired. It will also be noted that in some cases where it is preferred to put the trays into the shucks by hand. this can be conveniently done.

I claim:-

1. A machine of. the kind described com prising a series of rotatable pockets arranged in parallel relation and in an essentially horizontal row, guides projecting above and arranged between the pockets, said guides being curved to fit against the sides of the pockets and to effect a closure of the latter when they are turned, and means for passing open box trays beneath the pockets.

2. A machine of the kind described comprising an essentially horizontal row of match receiving pockets arranged side by side and in parallel relation, the pockets being shorter than the matches which they are to receive, guides arranged between and projecting above the pockets, and means for passing match trays beneath the pockets.

3. A machine of the kind described comprising a series of horizontally lying and retatable open match receiving pockets ar ranged side by side, stationary guiding devices between the pockets and projecting above the same, the said guides being curved opposite the pockets to eli'ect a closure of the pockets when the latter are rotated, means for rotating the several pockets, and means for passing open box trays beneath the pockets.

4. A machine of the kind described comprising an essentially horizontal row of intermittently turning open pockets arranged side by side, the several pockets being geared together, stationary guiding devices between the pockets and pro ecting above the same, the guiding devices being shaped to eifect closures of the pockets as the latter are rotated, and means for passing open match trays beneath and in close proximity to the pockets.

5. A machine of the kind described comprising a series of parallel guiding devices tapering at their upper edges, spaced apart, and having opposite concave portions, and rotatable open match receiving pockets turning in the concave portions of the guiding devices, wherebythe guiding devices serve as closures for the pockets as the latter are rotated.

6. A machine of the kind described comprising guiding devices in parallel relation tapered at their upper edges and with opposite portions concave, rotatable open match receiving pockets turning opposite the concave portions of the guiding devices, whereby the walls of said guiding devices serve as closures for the pockets, said pockets being shorter than the matches which they receive, and means for passing open match trays beneath the pockets.

7. A machine of the kind described comprising a series of tilting pockets arranged side by side, and guide partitions between the pockets, the partition and one end portion of the pockets being cut away toprovide clearance for match heads.

8. A machine of the kind described comprising a series of tilting match containing pockets arranged side by side, and guide partitions between the pockets, said partitions serving toclose the pockets as the latter are tilted, the pockets being shorter than the length of the matches which they carry,

and the partitions being cut away opposite.

one end of the pockets thereby providing clearance for thematch heads.

9. 'In a machine of the kind described, the delivery elements comprising rotatable members arranged side by side and having longitudinal match receiving pockets formed therein, the pockets being shorter than the length of the matches which they receive, and guide partitions between the pockets, said partitions serving to closethe pockets when'the delivery members are turned, and the guide'partitions being cut away opposite the match heads to provide clearance therefor.

10. In a machine of the kind described the delivery elements comprising a series of rotatable members arranged side by side and provided with longitudinal pockets, said elements being reduced between. their end portions, and guide partitions between the rotatable members, said partitions having abutments therein which project into the reduced portion of said rotatable members.

11. In a machinelof the kind-described, a series of horizontally lying and rotatable members having open match receiving pockets therein, said pockets lying in close relation, guides between the pockets and projecting above the same, said guides serving as closures for the pockets while the latter are turned, and a tray carrying belt rmming horizontally beneath the pockets and arranged to hold match trays in close relation whereby matches are dropped from the pockets directly into the trays.

12. A machine of the kind described comprising a series of rotatable members having longitudinal match receiving pockets therein, guide partitions between the several members, said partitions being shaped on their sides to fit against the rotatable members and close the pockets as the latter are tilted, said partitions having also reduced edges to guide the matches into the pockets.

13. A machine of the kind described comprising a series of rotatable members arranged side by side and provided with longitudinal match receiving pockets, guides arranged between the rotatable members and extending above the same so as to guide matches to the pockets in said members, and means for passing box t'ays beneath the said members.

1%. A machine of the kind described comprising a hopper having a plurality of compartments opening from opposite sides whereby matches in the two compartments will lie with their heads out of longitudinal alinement, and means located below the compartments for delivering matches from the compartments into match trays or boxes.

15. A machine of the kind described comprising a plurality of alining match containing compartments, the fronts and backs of the compartments being arranged so that matches in one compartment will have the heads lying in the opposite direction to those in the adjacent compartment, means for passing match trays below the compartments, and means between the compartments and the tray carrying means for delivering matches from the compartments to the trays.

WARREN B. HUTCHINSON.

lVitnesses A. G. DANNELL, M. G. ODoNNELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. 0. 

